Automated content selection for groups

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system and method for selecting media content for a group of persons located at a venue. The system and method identify a plurality of viewers in a vicinity of a venue that has one or more display devices from location data and extracts a content viewing preference of each viewer from their profile data. The process includes aggregating the content viewing preference of each of the plurality of viewers to generate an aggregated content profile. Based on the aggregated content profile, a list of content is generated. Next, a first group of viewers approaching a viewing range of a display device are sensed by imaging data. Any conflicts between content viewing preferences of the first group of viewers are detected and resolved based on weighting the viewing preferences of the group. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to automated tools for content selectionfor groups of persons.

BACKGROUND

Content, including media content, is typically experienced by consumersvia devices such as computers, televisions, radios, and mobileelectronics. Media content can be delivered by service providers, whosend the content, such as television, radio, and video programming, toconsumers for enjoyment at their physical locations. As networkcapabilities expand, new opportunities to enhance the ability forconsumers to enjoy content by experiencing a variety of content.Intelligent devices offer means to enhance the enjoyment of content inways that anticipate consumer personalization of media contentpresentation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system for automatedselection of content for a group of persons physically present at avenue;

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method used in portionsof the system 100 described in FIG. 1 to automatically select anddisplay content;

FIG. 3 depict illustrative embodiments of a communication system thatprovide media content selected by the system 100 described in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal forinteracting with the communication systems of FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for automated tools for content selection. Mobiletelecommunications and entertainment service providers may have accessto anonymous data gathered during the course of business about thelocation, content subscriptions, and prior content viewing choices ofsubscribers. The system includes a service that permits participants tosecurely post their location. The service determines when participantsare co-located or in close proximity to a display and each other, andautomatically selects content for viewing on that nearby display. Otherembodiments are described in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a method foridentifying from location data a plurality of viewers in a vicinity of avenue that has one or more display devices; obtaining profile dataassociated with each viewer that includes a content viewing preferenceof each viewer; aggregating the content viewing preference of each ofthe plurality of viewers according to the profile data of each viewer togenerate an aggregated content profile; creating an ordered list ofcontent for display on the one or more display devices based on theaggregated content profile; ranking the one or more display devices inthe venue; mapping content items from the ordered list of content to theone or more display devices based on the ranking; and sending thecontent items from the ordered list of content to the one or moredisplay devices according to the mapping so that they can be displayed.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a mobile devicethat has a processing system including a processor and a memory thatstores executable instructions for the processor to execute that causesthe mobile device to perform operations. The mobile device or theservice provider may provide location data to a content selection systemindicating a vicinity of a viewer to a venue with one or more displaydevices. The mobile device or the service provider may provide profiledata associated with the viewer that includes what content the viewerprefers. The mobile device receives notices from the content selectionsystem that indicate when a conflict arises concerning the contentviewing preferences of a first group of viewers concerning content itemson a list of content and sends a preference for one or more contentitems on the list of content to the content selection system.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a system forautomatically choosing content for a group of people at a venue. Thesystem identifies a plurality of viewers in a vicinity of a venuecomprising one or more display devices from location data and creates anaggregated content viewing profile from the profile data of theplurality of viewers. The system will generate a list of content fordisplaying on the one or more display devices based on the aggregatedcontent profile, and can sense a first group of viewers of the pluralityof viewers approaching a viewing range of a display device from imagingdata. The system may detect a conflict between the viewing preferencesof the first group of viewers and can resolve the conflict based onweighting the viewing preferences of the first group of viewers, therebycreating a content selection from the list of content. Finally, thesystem displays content from the list of content according to thecontent selection.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system for automatedselection of content for a group of persons physically present at avenue. As illustrated in FIG. 1, system 100 comprises a network 110, awireless network 120, a plurality of location tracking devices 130, apremises or venue 140 comprising a set-top box 146 and a display 148, acontrol server 150, a content server 160 and a content source 170. Asingle network 110 is illustrated for the sake of simplicity; however,it should be understood that network 110 may comprise a plurality ofrelated or unrelated networks that provide delivery of location trackingcommunications and delivery of media content for viewing. Locationtracking devices 130 may comprise cell phones, GPS, or other deviceskept by participants that enable a participant to securely provide dataconcerning his location. Such location information may be relayedthrough wireless network 120 and network 110 to control server 150.Other location gathering technologies well-known in the art may beemployed, such as multilateration or facial recognition. In one or moreembodiments, registered participants agree to provide contentsubscriptions, prior content viewing choices, schedule or reservationlocation information, and demographic information, by an opt-in process.In the system 100, participants securely post their location and thesystem determines when participants are co-located or in close proximityto other participants that have entered the venue 140 that has one ormore displays for viewing content, the proximal participants therebyforming a viewing group. The system 100 then selects content forpresentation at the one or more displays to the viewing group.

A single control server 150 is illustrated for the sake of simplicity;however, it should be understood that control server 150 may comprise aplurality of servers operating in a distributed environment, or thatfunctions performed by control server 150 may reside in content server160, or vice-versa. Additionally, the functions of control server 150may be distributed on mobile devices 130.

In one or more embodiments, the system 100 can provide media content tothe venue 140 via the network 110. For example, a subscription contentservice provide content of any type, such as broadcast television,premium television, video on demand, and/or pay-per-view television. Thecontent can be software content, including entire software programs,upgrades to programs, and/or additions to programs. The content can besubscription-based content (e.g., premium television channels, streamingcontent services) and/or non-subscription-based (e.g., “free”over-the-air television content and/or single offers or purchases ofcontent).

In one embodiment, the system 100 can include one or more contentservers 160 that can receive content from one or more content sources170. Content servers 160 can provide content through one or moredelivery networks to the venue 140. For example, a content server 160can deliver media content services via an internet protocol televisionnetwork, as set forth in more detail below.

At the venue 140, a single set-top box 146 and display 148 areillustrated for the sake of simplicity; however, it should be understoodthat the display 148 may comprise electronics to enable rendering mediacontent for viewing purposes without the set-top box 146. In addition,it should also be understood that the venue 140 may comprise multipledisplays, with or without associated set-top boxes. For example, theremay be more than one display, and the displays may not be of uniformsize. There may be a large central display and several smaller displays,or there may be a picture-in-picture scenario where two logical displaysshare the same physical display. In these cases, the service can createa rank ordered list that can be mapped to the displays. The displays mayhave a natural priority ranking based on their size or prominence orlocation (as with different seating tiers in a theater) in the venue140, and the ordered list of content can be commensurately mapped to thedisplay ranking. In addition, extending this multiple display analogyfurther, a participant's mobile device may act as a lowest rankingdisplay in the group of displays. In one scenario, for example, if onlyone person is interested in a particular video channel, that channel canbe displayed on his or her personal smart phone.

The system 100 can further include authentication functions to ensurethat media content is distributed only to verified subscribers of thesystem 100, the networks 110 and/or the content server 160 according toservice plan levels of those subscribers. For example, the system 100can verify that a set-top box 146 is properly identified and validatedfor receiving media content over the system 100. For example, one ormore authentication servers can be used to verify the subscriptionstatus of the set-top box 146. Device identifying information, such asMAC address, IP address, and/or SIM card information, or the like can betransmitted to an authentication server. An authentication server canuse this identifying information from the set-top box 146 to inquire ata subscriber database of service plan information for a subscriber whois associated with the set-top box 146. The subscriber database canprovide subscription status and service plan information to allow theauthentication server to enable delivery of purchased media content tothe set-top box 146.

When groups of people gather in a public space, such as the venue 140,and view content on a shared display 148, or multiple shared displays,there are several problems that arise: (1) a subset of the group may notbe authorized to view the content. They may not have subscribed to thecontent provider, or may not have paid to view the particular contentitem. The content providers would not be compensated for these viewers;(2) the owner of the venue 140 may have to pay a high price to thecontent provider for the rights to display the content to patrons; (3)the group of viewers may not have common viewing interests; (4) thegroup may include minors who should not view all types of content, ormay include families where parents may not wish their children to viewcertain types of content; and (5) the products being advertised withinthe content may not be of interest to the group of viewers.

In one or more embodiments, the system 100 can select media contentbased on a number of techniques and criteria, such as based on userinput, user preferences, user profiles, monitored user viewing history,and so forth. The system 100 resolves the several problems identifiedabove, with or without placing a burden on the participants (such asusing mobile applications, ‘checking in’, voting, engaging in dialogwith strangers, etc.). The system 100 includes a service whereparticipants securely post their location and the service determineswhen participants are co-located or in close proximity. In oneembodiment, the service is implemented by control server 150. Althoughthe participants of the system 100 may benefit from viewing content ofinterest without providing any actions to indicate their presence in thevenue 140 and proximity to display 148, the information maintained bythe service (including which content is of likely interest to peoplecurrently present in the venue 140) can be used in a scenario where theusers provide active content preference specification such as voting,paying, bidding, etc. One way in which the information can be used is tolimit the content choices (voting candidates) to a small, manageable setthat can easily be selected from a single mobile phone screen, forexample.

In the case of parental controls, the service consults a database ofpredefined user preferences dynamically so that when a child makes acontent selection, the service will grant access only if the parent isin close proximity and has given prior consent to such access. In analternative embodiment, the parents may receive a notification and grantaccess, possibly from a remote location. In this alternative embodiment,there is a presumption that the children have location tracking devices,such as smartphones. However, another option would be for child's toysor wearable devices to include location sensors with the ability towirelessly transmit their location.

In an exemplary embodiment where the venue 140 is, for example, arestaurant or bar, the content displayed on one or more displays in thevenue 140 may be determined by a series of steps performed by controlserver 150. In one embodiment, the content selection process mayinclude: 1) determining what content sources the participants in theviewing group are subscribed to, i.e., the available content; 2)optionally creating a list of favorite content for each participant inthe viewing group based on prior viewing of explicitly expressed contentpreferences from the available content; 3) determining which contentmaximizes the total preferences of the viewing group subject to theconstraint that all viewing group participants have subscribed to thecontent, and 5) sending a signal (or sending a content stream) todisplay the selected content at the one or more displays to the viewinggroup.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method used by system 100to automatically select and display content.

In step 202, the system 100 identifies from location data a plurality ofviewers in a vicinity of a venue comprising one or more display devices.

Next, in step 204, the system 100 obtains profile data associated witheach viewer of the plurality of viewers to obtain a content viewingpreference of each viewer.

Next, in step 206, the system 100 aggregates the content viewingpreference of each of the plurality of viewers from the profile data ofeach viewer to generate an aggregated content profile. The aggregatedcontent profile helps to determine which content maximizes the totalpreferences of the viewing group. Optionally, the aggregated contentprofile may be subject to a constraint that all viewing groupparticipants have subscribed to the content.

Next, in step 208, the system 100 generates a list of content fordisplaying on the one or more display devices based on the aggregatedcontent profile determined in step 206. In another embodiment, thecontent selected may be determined by the prior location of participantsforming the viewing group. For example, if most of the viewing group hasbeen to a sports arena, the content that is chosen for display to thegroup in the venue 140 can be related to the home sports team for thatarena.

In another embodiment, the venue operator may control the availablecontent. For example, in a sports bar, and the venue operator mayrestrict the available content to sporting events or other sportsrelated content. In another example, content displayed at a daycarecenter may be restricted to children's content. In another example, thevenue operator may extent the available content beyond that of theparticipants' subscriptions, based on the terms of the venuesubscription with the content provider. In addition, the venue operatormay bias the content selection process based on participantcharacteristics (i.e., revenue, loyalty, etc.) by awarding loyaltycredits to the participants and weighting the content selection based onloyalty credits. For example, the loyalty credits may be awarded basedon the spending habits of each participant, or based on how frequentlythe participant patronizes the venue (i.e., frequency of attendance).

The content selection process may apply a weighting factor to certainparticipants, from venue operator input or based on participantsubscription tier. Also, the venue operator may direct the system 100 toinsert specific promotional or advertising content. This content canpromote the vendor's products, and can be tailored (e.g., chosen from adedicated catalog.) Also this catalog can be dynamic, based onadvertising live auction, etc.

In one embodiment, the content provider may work out a deal with thevenue operator for a maximum number of subscriptions at the venue. Suchsubscription arrangement may allow the content to be displayed if acertain percentage of the patrons subscribe to the content, i.e., wherethe venue operator would only be responsible for the remainingpercentage of viewers without a subscription. This deal would morefairly compensate the content provider while offering an affordableprice to the venue operator, as credit would be provided for subscribersin the venue 140 who already have subscriptions to the content.

In another embodiment, the content selection criteria may be extended tolive performances. For example, live performers may receive informationfrom the system concerning the characteristics of the viewing grouppresent in a venue, and may use the information to alter theirperformance, creating tailored marketing messages (either live,broadcast, or recorded), or e-commerce opportunities.

Next, in step 210, the system 100 senses that a first group of viewersof the plurality of viewers is approaching a viewing range of a displaydevice. This sensing can be accomplished from imaging data, e.g., acamera mounted near the display device, or by other proximity sensingmeans.

The system 100 can provide social interaction among the first group ofviewers. For example, if the first group of viewers are fans of a sportsteam, system 100 could provide a SMS notification or call to action viamobile application alerting the participants of the formation of thegroup. In addition, the system 100 could set up a virtual chat room forthe first group of viewers to comment on the content. The virtual chatroom may aggregate posts from the first group of viewers, such astweets, Instagram, Facebook, or the like. In addition, advertising ormerchandizing could be directed towards this first group of viewers.

Next in step 212, the system 100 determines whether there is a conflictbetween the content viewing preferences of the first group of viewers.For example, some content may be favored by a first faction in the firstgroup, whereas other content may be favored by a second faction. Aclassic example would be fans of the New York Yankees in the firstfaction, fans of the Boston Red Sox in the second faction, where the twobaseball teams are not playing a game against each other, but areplaying games in different stadiums at the same time. The avid fans ofeach faction would desire to watch their respective team's games, butthe venue 140 may not accommodate such arrangement.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may dynamically switch content based onchanges to the composition of the viewing group. However, to avoidviewer dissatisfaction, content changes may be restricted to occur atprogram breaks in the content. The system may predictively determine thecontent in advance of program breaks, so that longer programs areselected before the arrival of participants to the venue 140. Forexample, the venue 140 may be a waiting room for a service provider, andthe participants may be scheduled to arrive after the beginning of aprogram break. The system 100 may predictively select the content beforeparticipant arrival.

Short form content, such as clips posted to social media sites, mayoffer more flexibility for content switching. As the current contentconcludes, the choice for subsequent content is altered based on thegroup characteristics. Short form content can be tailored (e.g., chosenfrom a dedicated catalog) by the venue operator. The catalog of shortform content can be dynamic, i.e., based on advertising, live auction bythe viewing group participants, etc. A playlist for the short formcontent can be generated. Content selection may be supplemented byparticipant vote.

In another embodiment, the system 100 may also provide an alert thatnotifies viewers, just prior to the content being switched, on thedisplay itself. Alternatively, alerts or notifications to individualparticipants may be provided to the participant's mobile device, throughSMS text messaging, in app notification, or the like. If the content isnot appropriate or desirable, the participant may choose to leave thatarea of the venue 140. In another embodiment, the system 100 may alsoprovide viewers with an identification of the one or more displaydevices in the venue and a listing of content that is currently beingdisplayed on the one or more display devices in the venue. The system100 may provide this information to the viewers' mobile devices by anapp, or may generate a website that will display the information andsend a URL to the viewers' mobile devices for viewing the website.

In the event of a conflict, the system 100 must resolve the conflict sothat the content may be displayed. The resolution may be based onweighting the viewing preferences of the first group of viewers, therebycreating a content selection from the list of content. The automaticcontent selection implemented by system 100 may be augmented by viewervoting. For example, a vocal or visual poll, or in app poll, may betaken at the venue by the system 100. As mentioned above, the system 100can also create a rank ordered list that can be mapped to the displaysin the venue 140.

Finally, in step 216, the system 100 displays content from the list ofcontent according to the content selection. As set forth above, thedisplays may have a natural priority ranking based on their size orprominence in the venue 140, and the ordered list of content can becommensurately mapped to the display ranking to display the content fromthe list.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIG. 2, it isto be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is notlimited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 300 for delivering media content. The communication system 300can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) media system.Communication system 300 can be overlaid or operably coupled with system100 of FIG. 1 as another representative embodiment of communicationsystem 300. For instance, one or more devices illustrated in thecommunication system 300 of FIG. 3 can provide the functionality ofcontrol server 150 that implements the service, or content server 160,that provides the content. Additionally, media processor 306 and mediadisplay devices 308 at building premises 302 described below can fulfillthe role of set-top box 146 and display 148, respectively, at the venue140. Further, the access network 318 described below can be thetransporter of the content, fulfilling the role of network 110 describedabove.

The IPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO) 310 withat least one super headend office server (SHS) 311 which receives mediacontent from satellite and/or terrestrial communication systems. In thepresent context, media content can represent, for example, audiocontent, moving image content such as 2D or 3D videos, video games,virtual reality content, still image content, and combinations thereof.The SHS server 311 can forward packets associated with the media contentto one or more video head-end servers (VHS) 314 via a network of videohead-end offices (VHO) 312 according to a multicast communicationprotocol. In aggregate, SHO 310, SHS 311, VHO 312 and VHS 314 form acontent source 170 described above.

The VHS 314 can distribute multimedia broadcast content via an accessnetwork 318 to building premises 302 housing a gateway 304 (such as aresidential or commercial gateway). The access network 318 can representa group of digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs) locatedin a central office or a service area interface that provide broadbandservices over fiber optical links or copper twisted pairs 319 tobuilding premises 302. The gateway 304 can use communication technologyto distribute broadcast signals to media processors 306 such as Set-TopBoxes (STBs) which in turn present broadcast channels to media displaydevices 308 such as computers or television sets managed in someinstances by a media controller 307 (such as an infrared or RF remotecontroller).

The gateway 304, the media processors 306, and media display devices 308can utilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial,powerline or phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless accessprotocol such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or otherpresent or next generation local or personal area wireless networktechnologies. By way of these interfaces, unicast communications canalso be invoked between the media processors 306 and subsystems of theIPTV media system for services such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsingan electronic programming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 329 can be used in the mediasystem of FIG. 3. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 300. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 315 that include mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 331 coupled to thebuilding premises 302. Modulated signals received by the satellite dishreceiver 331 can be transferred to the media processors 306 fordemodulating, decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channelsto the media display devices 308. The media processors 306 can beequipped with a broadband port to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)network 332 to enable interactive services such as VoD and EPG asdescribed above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 333 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system300. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 333 can also provideInternet, telephony, and interactive media services. System 300 enablesvarious types of interactive television and/or services including IPTV,cable and/or satellite.

The subject disclosure can apply to other present or next generationover-the-air and/or landline media content services system.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 330, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing web portal services over the ISP network 332 towireline media display devices 308 or wireless communication devices316.

Communication system 300 can also provide for all or a portion of thecomputing devices 330 to function as a control server (herein referredto as control server 330). The control server 330 can use computing andcommunication technology to perform software application function 362,which can include among other things, the system 100 techniquesdescribed by method 200 of FIG. 2. For instance, software applicationfunction 362 of control server 330 can be similar to the functionsdescribed for control server 150 of FIG. 1 in accordance with method200. The media processors 306 and wireless communication devices 316 canbe provisioned with software application functions 364 and 366,respectively, to utilize the services of control server 330. Forinstance, software application functions 364 and 366 of media processors306 and wireless communication devices 316 can be similar to thefunctions described for the set-top box 146 and location trackingdevices 130 of FIG. 1, respectively, in accordance with method 200 ofFIG. 2.

Multiple forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 317 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Global System for Mobile or GSM, Code Division Multiple Accessor CDMA, Time Division Multiple Access or TDMA, Universal MobileTelecommunications or UMTS, World interoperability for Microwave orWiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, Long Term Evolution or LTE, and soon. Other present and next generation wide area wireless access networktechnologies can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal 402 of acommunication system 400. Communication system 400 can be overlaid oroperably coupled with system 100 of FIG. 1, and/or communication system300 as another representative embodiment of system 100 of FIG. 1, and/orcommunication system 300. The web portal 402 can be used for managingservices of system 100 of FIG. 1 and communication system 300. A webpage of the web portal 402 can be accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator(URL) with an Internet browser using an Internet-capable communicationdevice such as those described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. The web portal 402can be configured, for example, to access a media processor 306 andservices managed thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a Videoon Demand (VoD) catalog, an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG), or apersonal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures, audio recordings,etc.) stored at the media processor 306. The web portal 402 can also beused for provisioning IMS services described earlier, provisioningInternet services, provisioning cellular phone services, and so on.

The web portal 402 can further be utilized to manage and provisionsoftware application functions 362-366 to adapt these applications asmay be desired by subscribers and/or service providers of system 100 ofFIG. 1 and communication system 300. For instance, users of the servicesprovided by control server 150 or control server 330 can log into theiron-line accounts and provision the control servers 150 or 330 withprofile data associated with each viewer of the plurality of viewers toobtain a content viewing preference of each viewer, monitored userviewing history, location tracking devices, parental controls, andprovide contact information to control servers 150 and 330 to enable itto communication with devices described in FIGS. 1 and 3, and so on.Service providers can log onto an administrator account to provision,monitor and/or maintain the system 100 of FIG. 1 or control server 330.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device 500.Communication device 500 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the devices depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 andcan be configured to perform portions of method 200 of FIG. 2.

Communication device 500 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 702 (herein transceiver 502), a user interface (UI) 504, apower supply 514, a location receiver 516, a motion sensor 518, anorientation sensor 520, and a controller 506 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 502 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 502 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 504 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 508 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device500. The keypad 508 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 500 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 508 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 504 can further include a display510 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 500. In anembodiment where the display 510 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 508 can be presented by way of the display 510 withnavigation features.

The display 510 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 500 can be adapted to present a user interface withgraphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by a userwith a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 510 can be equippedwith capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology todetect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on aportion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can beused to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functionsof the user interface. The display 510 can be an integral part of thehousing assembly of the communication device 500 or an independentdevice communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface(such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 504 can also include an audio system 512 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 512 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 512 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI504 can further include an image sensor 513 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 514 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 500 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable applications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 516 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 500 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 518can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 500 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 520 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device500 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 500 can use the transceiver 502 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 506 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 500.

Other components not shown in FIG. 5 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 500 can include a reset button (not shown). The reset button canbe used to reset the controller 506 of the communication device 500. Inyet another embodiment, the communication device 500 can also include afactory default setting button positioned, for example, below a smallhole in a housing assembly of the communication device 500 to force thecommunication device 500 to re-establish factory settings. In thisembodiment, a user can use a protruding object such as a pen or paperclip tip to reach into the hole and depress the default setting button.The communication device 500 can also include a slot for adding orremoving an identity module such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card. SIM cards can be used for identifying subscriber services,executing programs, storing subscriber data, and so forth.

The communication device 500 as described herein can operate with moreor less of the circuit components shown in FIG. 5. These variantembodiments can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

The communication device 500 can be adapted to perform the functions oflocation tracking devices 130, set-top box 146, display 148 and/orcontrol server 150 of FIG. 1, the media processor 306, the media displaydevices 308, or the portable wireless communication devices 316 of FIG.3. It will be appreciated that the communication device 500 can alsorepresent other devices that can operate in system 100 of FIG. 1 andcommunication system 300 of FIG. 3, such as a gaming console and a mediaplayer. In addition, the controller 506 can be adapted in variousembodiments to perform the software application functions 362-366,respectively.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope of theclaims described below. For example, although the invention is describein terms of video content such as live television broadcasts, theconcepts apply as well to video on demand selection from a catalog ofcontent, and audio media such as music or audio books. For example, anaudio playlist may be altered as a function of the guests attending aparty. Further, the group-based automated content selection conceptsdisclosed here can also be for other applications such as: providinginput to live performers to alter their performance for the audiencepresent, creating tailored marketing messages (either live, broadcast,or recorded), or e-commerce opportunities. Further, if subscriberattributes such as age are known, the presentation or venue actions canbe altered accordingly. For example, if a significant fraction of theaudience is determined to be over 18 years old, then the venue can offerthe sale of lottery tickets or legalized gambling, such as sportsbetting.

It should be understood that devices described in the exemplaryembodiments can be in communication with each other via various wirelessand/or wired methodologies. The methodologies can be links that aredescribed as coupled, connected and so forth, which can includeunidirectional and/or bidirectional communication over wireless pathsand/or wired paths that utilize one or more of various protocols ormethodologies, where the coupling and/or connection can be direct (e.g.,no intervening processing device) and/or indirect (e.g., an intermediaryprocessing device such as a router).

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 600 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods described above. One or more instances of the machine canoperate, for example, as the location tracking device 130, the set-topbox 146, the control server 150, the content server 160, the controlserver 330, the media processor 306 and other devices of FIGS. 1 and 3.In some embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., using a network626) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client user machine in aserver-client user network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a communication device of the subject disclosureincludes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video ordata communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, theterm “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machinesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

The computer system 600 may include a processor (or controller) 602(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a graphics processing unit(GPU, or both), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 608. The computer system 600 mayfurther include a display unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD), a flat panel, or a solid state display). The computer system 600may include an input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 614 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generationdevice 618 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 620. In distributed environments, the embodiments described inthe subject disclosure can be adapted to utilize multiple display units610 controlled by two or more computer systems 600. In thisconfiguration, presentations described by the subject disclosure may inpart be shown in a first of the display units 610, while the remainingportion is presented in a second of the display units 610.

The disk drive unit 616 may include a tangible machine-readable storagemedium 622 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g.,software 624) embodying any one or more of the methods or functionsdescribed herein, including those methods illustrated above. Theinstructions 624 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 604, the static memory 606, and/or within theprocessor 602 during execution thereof by the computer system 600. Themain memory 604 and the processor 602 also may constitute tangiblecomputer-readable storage media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Application specific integrated circuits andprogrammable logic array can use downloadable instructions for executingstate machines and/or circuit configurations to implement embodiments ofthe subject disclosure. Applications that may include the apparatus andsystems of various embodiments broadly include a variety of electronicand computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions in two ormore specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with relatedcontrol and data signals communicated between and through the modules,or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, theexample system is applicable to software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the subject disclosure, theoperations or methods described herein are intended for operation assoftware programs or instructions running on or executed by a computerprocessor or other computing device, and which may include other formsof instructions manifested as a state machine implemented with logiccomponents in an application specific integrated circuit or fieldprogrammable gate array. Furthermore, software implementations (e.g.,software programs, instructions, etc.) including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the methods described herein. Distributedprocessing environments can include multiple processors in a singlemachine, single processors in multiple machines, and/or multipleprocessors in multiple machines. It is further noted that a computingdevice such as a processor, a controller, a state machine or othersuitable device for executing instructions for the perform of operationsor methods may perform such operations directly or indirectly by way ofone or more intermediate devices directed by the computing device.

While the tangible machine-readable storage medium 622 is shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “tangiblemachine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “tangible machine-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any non-transitory medium that is capable ofstoring or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods ofthe subject disclosure. The term “non-transitory” as in a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage includes without limitation memories, drives,devices and anything tangible but not a signal per se.

The term “tangible machine-readable storage medium” shall accordingly betaken to include, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more read-only(non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable(volatile) memories, a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a diskor tape, or other tangible media which can be used to store information.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa tangible machine-readable storage medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, and HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are from time-to-timesuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Wireless standards for device detection (e.g.,RFID), short-range communications (e.g., Bluetooth®, WiFi, ZigBee®), andlong-range communications (e.g., WiMAX, GSM, CDMA, LTE) can be used bycomputer system 600. In one or more embodiments, information regardinguse of services can be generated including services being accessed,media consumption history, user preferences, and so forth. Thisinformation can be obtained by various methods including user input,detecting types of communications (e.g., video content vs. audiocontent), analysis of content streams, and so forth. The generating,obtaining and/or monitoring of this information can be responsive to anauthorization provided by the user.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Theexemplary embodiments can include combinations of features and/or stepsfrom multiple embodiments. Other embodiments may be utilized and derivedtherefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figuresare also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certainproportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order or functionunless expressly stated so. The use of the terms first, second, thirdand so forth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components,steps or functions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, oneor more devices or components described with respect to the exemplaryembodiments can facilitate one or more functions, where the facilitating(e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing a connection)can include less than every step needed to perform the function or caninclude all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more embodiments, a processor (which can include a controlleror circuit) has been described that performs various functions. Itshould be understood that the processor can be multiple processors,which can include distributed processors or parallel processors in asingle machine or multiple machines. The processor can be used insupporting a virtual processing environment. The virtual processingenvironment may support one or more virtual machines representingcomputers, servers, or other computing devices. In such virtualmachines, components such as microprocessors and storage devices may bevirtualized or logically represented. The processor can include a statemachine, application specific integrated circuit, and/or programmablegate array including a Field PGA. In one or more embodiments, when aprocessor executes instructions to perform “operations”, this caninclude the processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another device or componentto perform the operations.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A machine-readable storage medium, comprisingexecutable instructions that, when executed by a processing systemincluding a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:identifying, from location data, a plurality of viewers in a vicinity ofa venue comprising one or more display devices; obtaining profile dataassociated with at least two viewers of the plurality of viewers toobtain a content viewing preference of each viewer; aggregating,according to the profile data associated with the at least two viewers,the content viewing preference of each of the plurality of viewers togenerate an aggregated content profile; based on the aggregated contentprofile, generating a list of content for displaying on the one or moredisplay devices; sensing, from imaging data, a first group of viewers ofthe plurality of viewers approaching a viewing range of a displaydevice; detecting a conflict between content viewing preferences of thefirst group of viewers; resolving the conflict based on weighting theviewing preferences of the first group of viewers, thereby creating acontent selection from the list of content; and displaying content fromthe list of content according to the content selection.
 2. Themachine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the weighting isbased on loyalty credits awarded to each viewer in the first group ofviewers.
 3. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein theloyalty credits are awarded based on spending habits of each viewer inthe first group of viewers.
 4. The machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 2, wherein the loyalty credits are awarded based on a frequency ofattending the venue.
 5. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein the weighting is based on loyalty credits voted by each viewerin the first group of viewers.
 6. The machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein generating the list of content from the aggregatedcontent profile includes determining a prior location of the pluralityof viewers in the vicinity of the venue.
 7. The machine-readable storagemedium of claim 6, wherein the prior location is associated with asporting event and the list of content includes programs related to thesporting event.
 8. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein generating the list of content from the aggregated contentprofile includes restricting the list of content based on input from avenue operator.
 9. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 8,wherein the venue is a sports bar and the list of content is restrictedto sporting events.
 10. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 8,wherein the venue is a daycare center and the list of content isrestricted to children's content.
 11. The machine-readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise notifying thefirst group of viewers of a formation of the first group of viewers. 12.The machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise providing the first group of viewers with a virtualchat room.
 13. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, whereinthe operations further comprise displaying targeted advertising to thefirst group of viewers.
 14. The machine-readable storage medium of claim1, wherein displaying content from the list of content according to thecontent selection comprises ranking the one or more display devices inthe venue and mapping the display ranking to display the content fromthe list.
 15. A mobile device, comprising: a processing system includinga processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations,comprising: providing location data to a content selection systemindicating a vicinity of a viewer to a venue comprising a displaydevice; providing profile data associated with the viewer, the profiledata comprising content viewing preferences of the viewer; receiving anotice from the content selection system indicating a conflict betweenviewing preferences of a first group of viewers concerning content itemson a list of content, the first group of viewers comprising the viewer;and sending a preference for one or more content items on the list ofcontent to the content selection system.
 16. The mobile device of claim15, wherein sending the preference for the one or more content items onthe list of content comprises using loyalty credits awarded to theviewer, wherein the conflict is resolved based on weighting the viewingpreferences of the first group of viewers with the loyalty credits used.17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the operations furthercomprise detecting that the mobile device has entered the venue andreceiving loyalty credits based on a frequency of entering the venue.18. A method, comprising: identifying from location data, by aprocessing system including a processor, a plurality of viewers in avicinity of a venue comprising one or more display devices; obtaining,by the processing system, profile data associated with at least twoviewers of the plurality of viewers to obtain a content viewingpreference of each viewer; aggregating, by the processing system, thecontent viewing preference of the at least two viewers of the pluralityof viewers according to the profile data associated with each viewer togenerate an aggregated content profile; creating, by the processingsystem, an ordered list of content for display on the display devicebased on the aggregated content profile; and sending, by the processingsystem, the content items from the ordered list of content to thedisplay device according to the ordered list.
 19. The method of claim18, further comprising: providing, by the processing system, anidentification of the ordered list of content that is currently beingdisplayed on the display device in the venue.
 20. The method of claim18, further comprising: polling, by the processing system, viewingpreferences of each of the plurality of viewers for the content items onthe ordered list of content and adjusting the ordered list of contentbased on the polling.